Cobblecrazy
Active Member
- Joined
- May 6, 2021
- Threads
- 9
- Messages
- 29
- Reaction score
- 22
- Location
- Northern Nevada
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon
- Thread starter
- #1
In my other post I talked about my loss of power issue that landed my in the shop with only 1300 or so miles on the clock. A few days later subsequent "charging system" error caused the check engine light to come on and a notification through the Mopar site (this one cleared itself with no detail in the system as to what happened). Now, at roughly 2400 miles, I'm again without the Gladiator as it sits waiting for parts at the Jeep dealership.
Daily driving with some excursions to the hiking/fishing trailheads have been the norm from the last issue until now. A couple nights ago I noticed a couple silver dollar sized spots on the driveway underneath the Gladiator, roughly in the area of the "front" of the fuel tank/fuel filter. I looked underneath, and I could see an oily coating all the way down the fuel tank protective plate and the cover protecting the fuel filter housing. I stuck my finger into the opening of the fuel filter cover, and, again, if felt an oily coating. I looked around the underside of the truck, but no other areas could be seen.
My first thought was the drain valve for getting water out had come open, and now it was down to just letting diesel out. I checked the valve, and it was tight. As I didn't have a 1 1/8" socket to check the fuel filter cover for tightness, but I removed the protective cover and inspected the fuel filter cover. I couldn't find a specific location it was leaking, but there was the same oily coating on the cover. My new suspicion was the inner O rings, or, again, the cover was not completely tight (I gave it a twist with my hand, but it didn't move). I wiped down the oily areas and I cleaned the cement under the truck.
The next morning I came out, and I saw no new droplets nor was there anything on the inner portion of the protective cover for the fuel filter. I completed a few errands around town with the truck to include picking up a 1 1/8" socket. When I returned home the truck sat for about 30 minutes before I could get back out to check it. No droplets on the ground, but I did notice a coating of fuel inside the fuel filter protective cover that had not been there earlier that morning. I removed the protective cover, and I used the socket to check the tightness of the actual fuel filter cover. It may have moved just slightly, but nothing that I would equate to be an issue (you never know). I was able to get in touch with the local Jeep dealer, and away I went to see if they could diagnose the issue.
When a tech finally got to the Gladiator, he determined there was fuel coming from somewhere around the top of the fuel filter cover. I was told it was possibly a crack or ?... Parts were ordered, but they won't be in until Tuesday. Once again I had to leave the dealership without my truck.
On the downside this seems to be yet another nock on the Jeep. We had a JK that experienced a series of electrical problems the dealer couldn't seem to cure, and a few replaced radiators due to an unexplained over heating issue. To say my wife was not happy about the return to the Jeep brand would be an understatement, and this is certainly not helping. On the upside, I'm hoping my original loss of power problem had to due with a crack or flaw in this fuel filter cover - allowing unwanted air into the system - and it simply failed enough that fuel started to leak out. A few days prior to noticing the leak, I had experienced a brief "spongy" feel in the accelerator coupled with a slight loss of power, but I had been going up a hill in 90 degree weather with the air conditioner on. The loss was only seconds long and I felt the turbo kick in and no other issues (no dash lights came on, or any other error messages like before). Don't know if the two are related, but they occurred within a short period of time to each other.
I know the Youtuber Casey250 had a similar loss of power issue, and in a recent posting he talked about waiting for the dealer to get a part, but I don't know if the two are related (I'm in the process of reaching out to him) Would be interested to hear if anyone else has had this issue.
Daily driving with some excursions to the hiking/fishing trailheads have been the norm from the last issue until now. A couple nights ago I noticed a couple silver dollar sized spots on the driveway underneath the Gladiator, roughly in the area of the "front" of the fuel tank/fuel filter. I looked underneath, and I could see an oily coating all the way down the fuel tank protective plate and the cover protecting the fuel filter housing. I stuck my finger into the opening of the fuel filter cover, and, again, if felt an oily coating. I looked around the underside of the truck, but no other areas could be seen.
My first thought was the drain valve for getting water out had come open, and now it was down to just letting diesel out. I checked the valve, and it was tight. As I didn't have a 1 1/8" socket to check the fuel filter cover for tightness, but I removed the protective cover and inspected the fuel filter cover. I couldn't find a specific location it was leaking, but there was the same oily coating on the cover. My new suspicion was the inner O rings, or, again, the cover was not completely tight (I gave it a twist with my hand, but it didn't move). I wiped down the oily areas and I cleaned the cement under the truck.
The next morning I came out, and I saw no new droplets nor was there anything on the inner portion of the protective cover for the fuel filter. I completed a few errands around town with the truck to include picking up a 1 1/8" socket. When I returned home the truck sat for about 30 minutes before I could get back out to check it. No droplets on the ground, but I did notice a coating of fuel inside the fuel filter protective cover that had not been there earlier that morning. I removed the protective cover, and I used the socket to check the tightness of the actual fuel filter cover. It may have moved just slightly, but nothing that I would equate to be an issue (you never know). I was able to get in touch with the local Jeep dealer, and away I went to see if they could diagnose the issue.
When a tech finally got to the Gladiator, he determined there was fuel coming from somewhere around the top of the fuel filter cover. I was told it was possibly a crack or ?... Parts were ordered, but they won't be in until Tuesday. Once again I had to leave the dealership without my truck.
On the downside this seems to be yet another nock on the Jeep. We had a JK that experienced a series of electrical problems the dealer couldn't seem to cure, and a few replaced radiators due to an unexplained over heating issue. To say my wife was not happy about the return to the Jeep brand would be an understatement, and this is certainly not helping. On the upside, I'm hoping my original loss of power problem had to due with a crack or flaw in this fuel filter cover - allowing unwanted air into the system - and it simply failed enough that fuel started to leak out. A few days prior to noticing the leak, I had experienced a brief "spongy" feel in the accelerator coupled with a slight loss of power, but I had been going up a hill in 90 degree weather with the air conditioner on. The loss was only seconds long and I felt the turbo kick in and no other issues (no dash lights came on, or any other error messages like before). Don't know if the two are related, but they occurred within a short period of time to each other.
I know the Youtuber Casey250 had a similar loss of power issue, and in a recent posting he talked about waiting for the dealer to get a part, but I don't know if the two are related (I'm in the process of reaching out to him) Would be interested to hear if anyone else has had this issue.
Sponsored
Last edited:
